Politely Arrogant

This is something I have taught my dancers since I opened my first dance school back in St. Augustine, Florida over 15 years ago. I re-read it decided to share it again after witnessing a dancer's poor behavior this week. (It was not one of the DC Dance family members - whew!)

This is a reminder of a Dancer's attitude:

• To know yourself to be better than.... yet not show off that knowledge.

• To prize yourself as a dedicated & committed dancer, but not come off as a "brown-noser".

• To allow yourself to rise above the negative & mediocre, and not be cocky.

• To humbly prove yourself to be better than settling & know you always deserve the best because you EARNED it.

You're a DANCER , not just a student who takes a dance class.
And this is a reminder of a dancer's attitude

..... But, of course! (with a snap!)

  

Turning "negative" into a positive

Hello!
I am glad you stopped by today~

I just heard from a sweet friend of mine that his mother is in stage 4 cancer. Needless to say, he is going through a tough time. Having lost most of my family and many close friends early on, I came to an understanding about life & death.

I read this earlier today and wanted to share it with you (and my northern friend)...
Let me know what your thoughts are.

Dear Reader,

I come to you in the form of this article simply because I have found I have no other way to get through to you. It seems that most times when we meet, our encounters are quick, superficial and you quickly push your awareness of me from your mind.

Our relationship wasn’t always this way. When you were a child, you couldn’t understand me and so you thought of fun & interesting ways to grasp me. When it became too much, you simply put me out of your mind and went on your way. As a teenager, you recklessly pursued me as you thought you were invincible and that your virility would keep me at bay. Now, your awareness of me is limited to brief encounters and you cope with me by imagining that somehow, you are the exception.
It saddens me that you ignore me…that you deny my very existence. I have so many wonderful things I want to teach you if you would only stop for a moment and encounter me. People fear me but that is only because they don’t know me. Those who have explored me and my lessons have come away much more vibrant and alive… I really want that for you too.

When you avoid me, it’s your way to try to deny the passage of time but ignoring the truth doesn’t make it any less real. Time is passing…you are getting older…your parents are getting older…your children are getting older and at some point, you will face me. How you live until then is what is really important to me.

You see, when you take the time to know me you will find that I am really much more of a silent partner in your life, inviting you to live. Remember Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture? When he realized that he was on his way to meet me, he took the time to make sure that the important things he needed to say were said. He passed on the lessons of his life to his children and became an international sensation as many people pondered how he could be so ALIVE while he was dying. I don’t want you to be diagnosed with terminal illness to learn how to live so I’m sending you this invitation in the form of a blog: Meet me and when you do, let me teach you how to live.

To become aware of my presence in your life is the key to living a vibrant life. When you are aware of me, you waste less time on unimportant tasks and spend more time on what really matters. You accomplish the things you’ve always wanted to but never did. Inviting me into your world injects a certain poigniancy, even an urgency to really live life well. It brings the awareness that life is so fleeting and can pass us by in a moment and with that awareness, you can begin to drink deeply of the cup called today. You will learn that you can even face what scares you and come away stronger.
Is is now officially fall 2011. It is a perfect reminder that no matter how hard you try to hold it back, time still passes. It is also a good time to ask yourself: how will I choose to live from today on?

We will meet again; hopefully, not before you learned what I want to teach you.
Sincerely,

Death
                                                     by: By GalTime.com Contributor Lisa Basquez, Inspiring greatness


Pretty good, huh?

Until next week....  Happy Halloween

Positive vs. Negative

Positive thinking may not always work,
but negative thinking always does.

You're not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Iif you hear something long enough, you start to believe it "?. Well, this is true for every good dancer. It could be for good and for bad. 

Wake up in the morning and say out loud to yourself in the mirror, "I am beautiful"  three times with feeling.  Then very soon you are going to start to feel beautiful and when you feel beautiful you become beautiful. It is so easy.

There is no dancer alive who is reading this that wants to be ugly ... right? So here are some basic rules to stick to:

 Always tell yourself that you are beautiful; happy; fun; talented; the best...  now you add three things to this list

 Never tell yourself that you are stupid; ugly; fat; depressed; lazy; dumb; the worst... you can add three things to this list if you choose to.

 Try this :

Stand up tall and stick your chest out.  Give your self a long neck and stick out your chin. Place your hands on your hips and breathe deeply.  Pretend you are the King of the World and say out loud in a clear voice... 
. . I feel terrific!

Pretend you are a movie actor and with passion and energy try to convince everyone that you feel terrific. Guess what? In no time at all…you will! So now you know, the choice is yours If you believe  that you can be the best, then you can be.

This is what POSITIVE dancers do!

Happy Saturday!

Another great day in Pinellas County!!
I am super excited about Thriller rehearsal tomorrow. Getting ready for the Spooktacular at Largo Central on the 29th. Come one - Come all!! Our theme is Disco Zombies... you don't have to dress like a zombie to dance with us... just bring your thrilling energy! We start performing at 4:30.

If you have any questions, please contact me.
www.TheDance-Central.com
or email me
the dance central AT yahoo DOT com

It's the little things

I try to imagine everyone has an invisible sign around their neck that says, "Make Me Feel Important!" I see this sign on everyone I meet, and respond to it immediately. You will be amazed at how positively people react when you they're made to feel special.

It's the little that count, and nobody should ever think or ever be so big that he/she forgets them. Little things that everyone appreciates.... being on time for appointments; returning phone calls promptly; good manners; a simple thoughtful note.

Failing to follow through on a seemingly insignificant detail, you send the message, "you're not important enough for me to care about you."

Make everyone around you feel important. Try it for one week. How did it make you feel? What changes did you notice? What was the response from strangers? From close friends? Family members?
Was there any instance that it didn't make a positive difference? Why do you think that was the case?

It's the little things.... and the joy they bring!

I look forward to hearing back from you....

sundancekell AT gmail dot com

Invited to be Delighted!

I was re-reading "A Creative Companion". Have you read any of Sark's books? Light, lively, lovely and lusciously fun diversion in comparison to my "normal" reading list!

HOW TO BE AN ARTIST - By Sark

Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make little signs that say "Yes!" and post them all over your house. Make friends with freedom and uncertainty. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing as high as you can on a swing set, by moonlight.  Cultivate moods.  Refuse to "be responsible". Do it for love.  Take lots of naps.  Give money away.
Do it now. The money will follow. Believe in magic. Laugh a lot. Celebrate every gorgeous moment.  Take moonbaths. Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams. and perfect calm. Draw on the walls. Read every day. Imagine yourself magic. Giggle with children.  Listen to old people. Open up. Dive in. Be free. Bless yourself. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child.
You are innocent. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug trees.Write love letters.

So MANY juicy, fun ways to free yourself to your creative spirit!  I think I have played with most of these on the list. The ones I have enjoyed most and repeat often are "laugh a lot", "giggle with children", "drive away fear" and "entertain your inner child". The ones I still don't tackle enough would be "cry during movies", "take lots of naps" and "take moonbaths"(LOL).

What artist way(s) would you try this week?

I think I will challenge myself this week and go for the moonbaths... maybe build a fort while I'm at it.
Then I can look forward to wild dreams and perfect calm. Wow - it's sounding like an amazing week already. I can hardly wait to begin!

I would love to hear your experience. Please share...

You are RARE and WONDROUS!

Brick Two....
Kelley

Hello~
and WELCOME!

This is a new outlet for me. I appreciate you stopping by to see what 's going on under my sunshine today.

I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself first. My name is Kelley. I am a 45 year old native of the state of Florida. After MANY years of traveling all around the globe, I found myself back home again at the end of 2009. I am also a longtime dancer/singer, teacher/choreographer and small business owner.

Traveling, teaching and tough times have brought me to this moment. What is this moment? This is the moment I start building my "house of success", one brick at a time. One thing I've learned over the years when it come to designing a plan, I really need to spell it out and be made accountable. Maybe you have the same process to progress? Maybe you have never tried it or maybe you don't even need it? But I am hopeful that will join me and share your thoughts, experiences and knowledge during the course of this construction project.

I have been doing so much reading and re-reading over this past year. This is one of my bricks gong into the new house...

Top Secrets to Success

1. Make those around you feel important.
2. Stress your attributes; be an optimist.
3. Never, ever stop trying to improve.
4. Make your enthusiasm contagious.
5. Smile.
6. Motivate through kindness, not force.
7. Forgive yourself and move on; everyone makes mistakes.
8. Never break promises.
9. Be consistent.
10. Don't let yourself be intimidated; people are people.
11. Be excellent at what you do.
12. Be on time.
13. Be polite.
14. Be courteous.
15. Be friendly.
16. Be a good listener.
17. Never let your ego get in your way.
18. Have fun and celebrate your successes.

Sounds so simple, but yet is so powerful. Don't let the simplicity fool you. Simplicity is key to achieving success. And these are positive habits that many people, young and old, in our society have neglected to develop. I am doing my very best to exercise these simple keys with everyone; from the dancers at my school to the drivers on the road with me. (Any of you who live in Florida may know how challenging that last one can be!)

Brick one....

Dancingly yours,
Kelley
sundancekellATgmailDOTcom